Dragonball IW: Infinite Wonder
by The Toriyama bot
Summary: Five years after the death of Majin Bu, a villain from the Z Warrior's past has returned from Hell to a changed world. This story is an attempt to link the inconsistencies between Z and GT
1. Chapter I

Personal Note:  I did not create Dragonball, though I wish I did.  This story takes place after the Majin Bu Saga; it helps to be familiar with the characters after the Bu Saga and with some of GT.  This story is based on a concept given by Sandra S, a great anime fan that has a true creative flare.

Prologue: Since the Death of Majin Bu

It has been five years since the battle against the evil Majin Bu; Goku and the other heroes of the Earth have enjoyed the serene peace that has settled since the destruction of the ultimate evil that plagued the universe.  Regardless of the peace, there are still lesser evils on Earth, the petty evils committed by petty men, petty crimes.  

Crime still runs rampant throughout the world; these acts are nothing serious, only elaborate, almost silly, attempts for fame made by eccentric individuals who decide to break the law, the sort of problems the humans can solve on their own.  Normal humans breaking normal human laws being stopped by normal human guardians, the way the Earth was forty years ago.  

Now that the humans can care for themselves, the Z Warriors have taken advantage of this time to perfect their lives.  Some have settled down, started families, and have not set a thought to fighting.  Others though, have used this time to prepare for the unexpected, should the Z Warriors ever need to return to defend the inhabitants of the Earth.

Chapter I:  The Starting of a New Family 

Videl ran her hand across her stomach with a warm content smile.  She sighed and continued to fold the tiny clothing received as gifts, she was starting to feel comfortable at the home she and Gohan had just built.  It was adjacent to her new in-laws, the Son Family.  

Since the age of ten, Videl had always lived with her father in the Capital City, Satan City as it was dubbed, in the opulent mansion given to them by the grateful people of the Earth.  Before that, she never really had a place to call home, she traveled with her father, while he fought in martial arts tournaments, and she stayed in the hotel.  Mr. Satan was always a talented martial artist, but then used his training to support his daughter, and also to get over the pain of losing his wife.  Wherever her father went, little Videl toted along loyally, thinking her father was the greatest hero.  She never saw him fight though, her father never wanted to have his daughter see how violently their money came about.  That made him an even bigger hero in her eyes.

She will always be her daddy's little girl, but now there was someone else in her life.  Another great hero, who in turn, was a descendant of Earth's greatest hero; Videl knew the truth now, the entire truth.  About Cell, about Freezer, about the Androids, the Saiya-jin race, she knew it all.  She accepted that her father was not the most powerful being on earth.  Somehow, she had always known, it was impossible for a man like her father to be as strong as he claimed; yet she still believed, out of faith and love.  

She knew her father was a normal man.  That was why the truth was so easy for her to accept.  Now she had fallen in love with the hero that had saved the Earth; upon learning the truth, she was angry with her father stealing the glory that rightfully belonged to Gohan, but her husband never cared for the glory.  He never wanted it, and he never will.  That heart of gold was one of the most endearing traits Videl loved about her husband, that same heart of gold that made her love her father.

Bulma came into the room with a stack of tiny clothes and noticed Videl's moment of tranquil maternity. "Is anything the matter?"

            "Oh, it's nothing," Videl replied as she sat down heavily.  She gently brushed her hair away from her face.  It had finally grown back to its original length.

            Bulma had not noticed that Chi-Chi was in the room as well, sitting in a corner holding a pair of chopsticks that twitched in her fingers.  She sat quietly with a shocked look on her face, and a slight twitching of her eye.  "Oh…hi…Chi-Chi."  

Nothing.

"Oh, that's right.  Videl?"

"Yes, Bulma"

"Chi-Chi…"

"She isn't taking the news very well."

"I can see that."

"I told her during dinner—"

"Oh really?"

"Eight months ago."

"_Ech_."

"Well, she started moving recently."

"Oh, well that's good."

"At least she's stopped mumbling."

"Mumbling?"

"Yeah, she was calling me _a cradle-robbing whore_ and saying that I've _corrupted her baby, her little Gohan_."  

"She's taking it better than I thought."  Bulma replied looking out the window.  "How's Goku taking it?"

"He's excited, more excited than Gohan actually.  He loves the idea of having a grandchild."

"It's hard to picture Goku as a grandfather.  Its even harder to picture Little Gohan as a father."

"MY GOHAN IS NOT THE FATHER!!!"  Chi-Chi cried out.  She immediately went back into her catatonic state.

After a slight pause, "Anyway, I can remember when Bra was born," Bulma continued with a bashful smile on her face, "Trunks was so excited; he thought he was going to have a little brother.  He was disappointed for a while."

"Gohan told me.  Goten was pretty upset too, he wanted to have another pal to play with, but they get over it, they always do."

"Those boys, Trunks just turned thirteen—"

"And Goten, twelve."  Videl had gotten really close to the Son Family.

"Where has the time gone?"

Both sighed a sigh of nostalgia at the same time, and realizing what just happened, both mothers giggled like schoolgirls.  

After a moment of silence and folding clothes, Videl came across a little orange gi and held it up.  Videl smiled, "Oh that Goku." 

Bulma looked up, she smiled too.  "He'll never change."

"He's excited, he wants the baby to be a boy, he said, 'it'll be fun to train with the baby.'"

"_Train with the baby?_  You mean when the child is older, right?"

"Oh no, the baby.  The child is a Saiya-jin, and Vegeta told him," Videl crossed her arms, closed her eyes and put an exaggerated frown on her face, "_When a human and Saiya-jin reproduce, a hybrid is born.  The Saiya-jin genes in the hybrid must be fiercer than normal since they need to compensate for the weakness of its humanity, thus resulting in a higher fighting power.  It's rather simple, the less percentage of Saiya-jin in the hybrid's blood means a higher initial power level_.' or something like that."  Videl released her impression and blushed as Bulma giggled.  "So since Gohan is half Saiya-jin," Videl had never gotten used to saying that word, "and I'm human, that means the baby is going to be quarter Saiya-jin.  That means that he will be a powerful child, and _a great warrior_."

"He said the same about Trunks.  That Vegeta."

"Goku got so excited once Vegeta said that.  He still shivers with the idea of having a child with a ki as powerful as Vegeta says it is."

"But won't he hurt the child?"

"Oh come now Bulma, you know Goku, the last thing he would ever do is hurt anyone."

"Your right."

"At least we have Gohan to be the more reasonable male member of the family, he's so sweet."

"HE WAS INNOCENT BEFORE HE MET YOU!!!"  Rumbled from the corner of the room.

            "Is it my imagination or is Vegeta more…domesticated?" Videl asked, glancing out the window to the balcony where Goku and the Saiya-jin Prince were conversing.  

            "Oh yes, he's settled down so much.  I thought he was going to pressure Trunks into _continuing the legacy _but he's actually been supportive of the idea of Trunks someday taking over the Capsule Corporation.  Oh I can just picture him…sitting in his huge office, wearing a sharp suit, looking so smart and handsome with his glasses, answering phones, being a really responsible man.  He really wants to be an executive."

            "Is that what _he_ wants, or is that what _you_ want."  Said Videl with a little smirk.

            "Oh, he doesn't know it yet.  Either way, he is going to have to become president, Vegeta thinks it's nonsense, so HE'LL never do it.  Executives have run the company since Papa died.  It's a matter of principle, a family corporation must be run by a family member."

            "Well, you're right."

            "Of course I'm right.  A smart and beautiful woman like me is always right," Bulma said.  Videl only blushed, noticing the age lines around Bulma's mouth.  

"Yes, well…look at them, talking up a storm."

            Outside, by a huge glimmering car stood Goku being lectured by Vegeta, who spoke with an immense pride for his new car.  He boasted about it as though it were a prize from a great conquest.

            "Look at this engine Kakarroto, it has more power than any other car that came before it.  It can go from zero to one hundred and fifty kilometers in under six seconds.  I would let you drive it Kakarroto, but you are not worthy of being behind the wheel of such a fine machine..."

            Goku is not even listening; he just stood with his hands tucked behind his head and staring up at the sky, acting like a child.  Easily distracted.  

            "KAKARROTO!!!  I'M TALKING TO YOU!!!"

            "Aww…" Goku turned back his attention with a bored look on his face.

            "As I was saying, Kakarroto, this car has a finish on it that…"

            "Vegeta…"

            "What is it Kakarroto?"

            Goku put his hands in his pockets, kicking at stone on the ground.  "I was just wondering.  We can both fly right?"

            "Okay," Vegeta replied with a suspicious look on his face.

            "We can both fly at mind boggling speeds that no human is capable of surviving,"

            "Right."

"And we ARE the most powerful beings in the known Universe…"

            "Correct."

            "Why would we need a car?"

            After a slight pause, "Don't question me, Kakarroto.  This enamel is a rare shade of red…"

            Goku grumbled, and kicked at a patch of grass.  Listening to Vegeta was always a chore, but at least Goku could relax.  Vegeta stopped telling him death threats.  He looked up at the sky.  Looking at the clouds.  He saw one that looked like a bowl of rice, another looked like a car, and another looks like a cup of tea…green tea.  One that looked like a platter of baked fish.  One that looked like fried shrimp.  Roasted pork ribs.  Chicken legs.  Wings.  Beef tips.  

Goku was hungry now for some reason


	2. Chapter II

Chapter II:  An Abomination of Nature 

Silence, there was always that horrible, oppressive, silence here. If there was one thing to be held above another about this place, it was the silence.  There was not even the sound of wind blowing across the landscape; there was no sound at all to maintain one's sanity, this shows how Hell can be so torturous, even this, the slightest detail can make a lesser being's afterlife miserable.  

It was not as he had imagined such a place to be—not that he'd dedicated much or any time at all imagining any particular place in the afterlife.  He fancied himself as the most powerful being that existed.  He thought he was an immortal.  A God.  

It had been quite some time since he had arrived, and he had seen many fallen ones during his term in Hell.  Corrupt warriors from far off galaxies, others from the earth, criminals, assassins, tyrants, thieves, evil in all shapes, sizes, and colors, all of them were unique creations of evil defeated by the righteous.  All of them found a place here after death.

         Condemned to Hell for his crimes against humanity, he hardly saw his fate as punishment; there is not much Enma Daio can do to a being as powerful as Cell to make him repent for his actions in life.  All Cell did was stand with his arms crossed, his eyes closed and completely motionless, stoic as ever.   He passed his time merely listening to people come in and rant on about how they were the "supreme being in life" before they met someone who was superior to them in power and skill.  It seemed as thought the most recent additions to the motley crew of Hell had some sort of interaction with a certain Saiya-jin, in fact, the latest newcomer was destroyed by the Saiya-jin himself.  

He was a short fellow, pink and extremely ugly.  Cell did not bother to strike a conversation with this pink little man, not that it had mattered anyway.  He could not even talk.  He was nothing more than an animal, a killing machine with no sense of control; he arrived with an act of berserk rage, screaming and howling, almost as if he tried to use his immense power and strength to tear Hell apart and escape.  Such behavior was detestable to Cell and all the others.  That was why they all left him alone; while all of them were aware of their own greatness, none of them were stupid.

All of the notorious criminals knew of his strength, speed and incredible fighting abilities; Cell remembered watching with the others the last fight ever on a crystal ball conjured by the wizard Babidi.  They all watched the incredible battle between him and Goku on some distant planet no one knew, or cared about; yet once they saw the pink man killed in battle with that damned Genki Dama, all of the inhabitants braced themselves for the inevitable arrival of this primitive killing machine.  

And when he _did_ arrive, he stayed for a very short time.  So short that Cell never even learned the pink man's name; most of the criminals that ended up in Hell remained there for years and years, maybe even an eternity, but he was so unruly, so destructive, Enma Daio had no other alternative than to have that Majin-person removed.  

That was quite some time ago, and he was never seen again.  None of the others knew as to what happened to him…actually, they were all relieved they were rid of the little pink psycho.

After he had left, Cell was able to enjoy the status of being the most powerful being in Hell again.  He had contempt for all of the pathetic inhabitants; he had wanted to kill everyone there.  None of them would be able to stand a chance against the great Cell, except for the genius Dr. Gero.  Cell never wanted to harm Dr. Gero, he never knew why; he felt a sort of connection to the doctor, the same connection Freezer had with King Kold.  Cell knew he was a creation of Dr. Gero's, but he never really cared since he had never met the man in life.  He never thought what it would have been like to meet his "father," but when he did, his rage with Android 17 grew.  

The doctor was impressed with Cell, he knew his creations were powerful, but he never thought one of his creations would grow to become almost godlike; he was filled with a sense of pride, as was Cell.  Cell felt proud to be the creation of a scientific genius, the same pride Vegeta felt for his father, and the same pride Freezer felt for his own father.  

At the moment, Cell found himself in a desolate area of the level of Hell he was in.  He was frustrated by the sheer idiocy he was doomed to spend company with, "The Great Lord" Freezer and his father were the most annoying.  Cell could no longer stand the sound of the tiny alien's voice, and left for some silence, which he found.  Normally, Cell would have merely turned Freezer to dust, but that was impossible.  He could not kill what was already dead.  So rather than waste his power, he would often walk away, and leave all the idiots behind to do whatever it is idiots do.  

As Cell walked, he remembered many of the conversations he had with his father, secluded from the others:

_"Cell, when I created you, my original intent, my original design, was for you to only have one stage, your first stage.  I knew that I wanted to combine the hatred of all the enemies Goku had crossed.  When I started I knew blood was the key.  Blood is the life fluid that fueled us all, it was what kept those of evil alive.  There is a factor of art to science.  I knew that blood held the configurations of a person, but what I believe is that blood also has personal traits.  Hatred exists in blood.  I know this for a fact.  When I started work on you, I knew the best place to gather blood of the greatest warriors was where warriors meet.  Thus I attended the Tenkaichi Bodukai, I remember that fateful day; that was the day you were officially started.  You see, Cell, I went to the tournament to gather the blood of Earth's mightiest warriors, take it to my lab and create a warrior so strong, he could defeat Goku._

_Oh yes, I remember that day.  I was so disappointed by the combatants, those clowns were nothing, their blood was not fit to be incorporated into my work.  It was then I witnessed a great battle…where a man, a green man named "Ma Junior" challenged Goku.  He was powerful, but I saw that power came not from skill, but by hatred.  He was born of evil, he was born of hatred, I knew I had to have his blood.  That green man soon yelled out his TRUE name.  Ma Junior was nothing more than an alias.  He declared that he was really the Great Piccolo Daimao, the Demon King that Goku had slain years before surfaced.  He was alive.  He battled valiantly.  He bled._

_Once the battle was over, and Goku foolishly allowed his enemy to live, everyone was evacuated from the arena.  I hid from the monks that cleared everyone out.  I searched frantically to find something, blood, sweat, anything of this warrior's.  My mind filled with adrenaline, chemicals churned with excitement as I searched for blood, one can say I had a sort of bloodlust.  I found what I searched, traces of blood on what remained of the arena floor.  Content with the samples of blood, I remembered something.  Piccolo Daimao had lost his arm.  The man was so strong he tore off his own arm and threw it away.  _

_I went back to the spot where that happened and found it, I found flesh, I found an arm filled with blood and bone.  Beautiful.  I returned to my lab with the arm wrapped up, and started to work.  My designs were changed drastically.  I planned originally to use human blood, but after some tests on the flesh and blood, I found it to be…extraterrestrial.  Amazing.  Earth's devil was not even of this planet.  It was this discovery that made me aware that life existed outside the Earth, if Piccolo was an alien on Earth, surely more would come.  _

_And I was correct, because five years later a man from space came.  A man named "Raditz." His arrival made me excited, because after the tournament, I started to develop technology that I needed to track down the most powerful warriors for you.  The software was antiquated; they were mostly programs I had stolen from Capsule.  What I did was create a new program that had the capabilities to identify a being, read its power level, and track its location.  It took me about three years to develop the software.  By the time I finished the program, I was ready to move my laboratory away to the mountains and monitor Goku's progress from there.  _

_When I moved, I set up my computer as it was before, but with the ki tracking program and worldwide ranged radar.  I was more than ready to seriously work, my laboratory was running and my computer had become the central brain unit that breathed automated life into my operations.  My computer found this man, yet it could not identify him as someone on earth.  I knew an extraterrestrial had arrived; in fact, it was my computer that told me he was killed, his ki was gone._

_But I was shocked to know that this man killed Goku.  My life's work, gone.  Distraught, I did not even bother to collect the blood left by the corpse.  Neither did I bother to try and find Goku's body.  I decided to leave my laboratory in the mountains.  I even considered suicide.  _

_But in retrospect, I found that I acted hastily in abandoning my work on you because one year later, Vegeta came to Earth.  And on that same day, Goku returned.  I see that I had lost an entire year's worth of work. _

_ Goku was alive again.  _

_My life had meaning once more.  _

_I returned to my lab after a year and commenced my work once again.  I used my computer to find the location of the monumental fight between Goku and this new opponent.  In secret, I was glad Goku had won.  I wanted him to live long enough to see him kneeling in pain before me, for his crimes against the Red Ribbon Army, for his death to about by a creation of my own hands. _

_Had Vegeta not arrived and provided variety with his blood samples, you would have been a mere clone of Piccolo, he made me believe that more alien life forms existed in the vast recesses of space, that there were beings more powerful than what existed on the Earth.  I was playing with powers no one ever had dealt with before; I soon realized that I was creating a deity. _

_Not much progress had been made in the years after Vegeta's defeat.  It was rumored that Goku's son had been part of a search party that traveled through space to search for these relics called Dragonballs.  Nothing on Earth happened.  It was not until some years later that a new warrior emerged.  His name.  Freezer.  It was his arrival that really bolstered my research.  He and his father were the most powerful being I had ever seen.  My mind was blown away by the sheer enormity of his power level, no being that powerful had ever set foot on Earth before.  He and his father were the components that were destined to build you.  They were destined to die on Earth, these galactic marauders could have died anywhere in the universe.  They had been to every corner in their conquests, but it was destiny that brought them to their final resting place.  Earth.  _

_Once the blood was collected from the scene, I knew that was enough needed and started to build your unique DNA.  I felt that since you had the blood of the greatest warriors in the known universe, you were going to be unstoppable, that you were going to be able to destroy Goku, but I remembered that I had a vial of Goku's blood from the Tenkaichi Budokai in refrigeration.  Out of the sake of symbolism, I decided to take that blood and put it into the cauldron.  I thought that since you were going to fight and kill Goku, it would be more dramatic if a part of you WERE Goku.  _

_One night, as I worked on the chemistry of your blood, I noticed something interesting.  I saw that your blood was…versatile.  It had the qualities of Emperor Freezer and his father; they had no permanent structure to them, their cells were…how do I put this…open ended.  They had no distinctive shape, I assumed it was what allowed them to transform.  They thought their transformations were purely for the purposes of power, but on a microscopic level, their cellular structure was very unstable, they had no real structure.  Whenever they raised their power after a certain level, their cells would react in a spontaneous manner._

_I experimented and was astounded to see how chaotic the blood acted.  The cells collapsed…they collapsed completely!  But they reconstructed themselves in a completely different pattern, a new pattern that was more suitable to sustain this new power level.  Incredible, I had never seen anything like that, not on Earth, but it was too dangerous to leave the cells in that state of chaotic instability.  _

_If I left you with that cell structure, your body would not be able to sustain such a power you were destined to have.  There was a possibility of you either constantly transforming as you "powered yourself up" or simply exploding.  This was the biggest threat to my vision for you.  So I decided to "repair" the flaws of nature.  To explain this simply, I had to use the blood cells of the other warriors to stabilize Freezer's blood, thus keeping you from changing into random forms whenever you raised your power._

_I knew I still wanted you to be able to transform, that essence was in your blood.  It was a trait unique to Freezer and it would prove most useful in battle.  Each cell cried to me, begging me to fix them, to heal them, to make them stronger.  I could actually hear that, but I had grown weak in my time creating you, I had grown old, I was unable to continue.  You, Cell, were my greatest creation, and you were making me die.  I decided to use my own technology on myself.  Years before you were ever conceived, the Red Ribbon Army was developing cybernetic technology to counter Capsule's automotive and storage niches in the markets.  You, Cell, were a continuation of the Red Ribbon legacy of technology.  You were the next step in the evolution of technology.  But my dreams would never be realized if I could not continue._

_My lab assistant supervised my transformation from man to machine.   The little robot was an excellent creation, so I decided to reward it by upgrading it from a servant robot to a battle warrior machine.  I later designated the android number 19.  After a year of work, he finished; I was a genius to have programmed the android to perform such a task.  When I awoke, I felt myself stronger, I no longer had the weaknesses of a common human, I no longer had to eat, I no longer had to sleep, and I was no longer confined by human bodily functions.  I could now work for months on end without needing rest._

_I continued my work._

_Anyway, basically, I changed the behavior of Freezer's blood, instead of transforming spontaneously in battle, I decided that you would need a component to initiate transformation, something to allow you to control your transformations, rather than having you think about your power.  I designed a component for each stage, and each stage was given a design that could sustain its maximum power.  This concept led to the utility design of your tail, originally, it was to be purely for symbolism, Goku had a tail, Vegeta had a tail and their second greatest foe had a tail as well.  I gave your tail it's syringe design for you to feed off of the pathetic humans, and also it became the means of absorbing the vital components necessary for transformation.  _

_As for the components themselves, I decided to integrate them into human bodies, make them androids, make them weapons; make them into artificial humans.  But who was expendable?  _

_I then decided to scour the cities for a suitable subject for a component.  I could pass through civilization without worrying, since I no longer had a ki, I was not threatened by the possibility of being sensed by Goku or the others.  I finally found the perfect subject, a blonde orphan girl wandering the streets.  Perfect, she was an orphan; she would not be missed.  Search parties would not interrupt my work.  I acted on my opportunity, she was alone; so I struck, she struggled, naturally, but she was so weak.  I was attacked though; it was a pathetic boy, her brother.  He kicked me in the head once, but I felt nothing.  Had I been human, it would have been a crushing blow, but in my mechanical state, I merely caught him by the throat.  I decided to take him as well; he volunteered himself as an additional component.  _

_I took them both to my lab, they helplessly struggled, but soon they were under my power.  I performed several experiments on the two, to test my theories of organic mechanization.  After their year of pain, I decided to do the two a favor, not out of human empathy, but for the sake of efficiency, to erase their minds of any and all memories they had before and during their conversion to Androids.  They had no need for memories of human life; they were weapons for the Red Ribbon Army now._

_Everything was ready; I completed my work on you, all that was left was for you to grow, to develop from your pupa stage, which I estimated at twenty-six years.  At the end of twenty-six years, every android I had built, from one to 20, would assault Goku in one mighty battle.  I would lead the assault against him in an act of glory for the Red Ribbon Army.  You Cell were to be Android 20, but I decided to include myself in the war.  I altered my body for battle, thus I proclaimed myself Android 20, the man known as Dr. Gero was dead, he had died along with the Red Ribbon Army.  _

_You became Android 21, but you were too unique of a creation to simply be referred to as a number, so I named you, appropriately, Cell._

_Once ready, I decided to put myself and my creations into suspended animation, we were to wait for you to develop, then the day of glory would be realized.  I had the foresight though to keep my computer running and monitoring the Earth.  Had there been any developments on the Earth, had the warriors grown stronger, my computer would rely this information to us and make us stronger with information and statistics.  We would know every technique of each warrior.  No surprises were ahead of us.  _

_Unfortunately, after five years, an earthquake broke the term of suspended animation for only Android 19 and I.  We decided to survey the earth to find the state of Earth's "heroes," and found they were no match for Android 19 and myself.  My computer had tracked all of the warriors, and noticed they were pathetically weak.  Damn Vegeta, I never thought he could be that powerful.  Since he was away from the Earth, my computer could not monitor his strength and feed this information to us as we slept.  _

_The rest Cell, as you know, is history._

_The open-ended quality of Freezer's blood still exists in you Cell, but not in it's chaotic state.  The "gaps" in the cell structure can be occupied by a component for transformation; although I only created two components, I did not make you limited to only those two.  You are a versatile warrior, Cell, you are a universal host; any artificial organic life form is a component.  You have infinite possibilities, infinite transformations as long as you can absorb an artificial organic life form, you can progress to a further stage; you can become even more powerful."_


	3. Chapter III

Chapter III:  Is Revenge a Possibility? 

Cell had lost all track of time during his walk.  What felt like mere minutes to him could have been days, they could have been weeks, the could have been months, even years; there was no way to know, time ceased to exist in this horrid place, not that it mattered.

         He found himself in a spot of Hell that looked just like the rest of Hell.  It was all the same; the ground was always the same, yellowish-brown as far as the eye can see.  Far off in the horizon, there were grayish-blue crags.  Cell realized in his walk just how immense this place truly was.  He felt as though he had been walking for eternity, yet those mountains never seemed to get any closer.  

Cell surveyed the lands.  

Nothing.

As his eyes shifted and scanned, he noticed something.  Something that stood out in this barren wasteland, there was a small speck.  Cell knew there was something else that existed here, and he finally found it.  He walked towards the little black speck in the horizon.  Every time he would take his walks, he walked for no purpose other than to get away from Freezer, but now it was out of the sake of curiosity.  The more curious he got, the faster he walked.  His curiosity actually grew because for once, something other than his residential pit actually seemed to come closer as he walked.  At one point, he actually started running.  Normally, he would just fly over to it, but that would mean he would use his ki, which was impossible.  He was dead.  How could he use his ki, his life force, if he was dead?  Cell never got used to having to walk wherever he wanted to go, but he had no choice.  When he first arrived, he considered having some of the members of Team Ginyu carry him in a chariot.  

Cell finally arrived to what it was he spotted from a distance, it appeared to be some sort of monolith.  A monolith, here, in the middle of nowhere, resting on the cracked ground; it was the only change in landscape he had seen since he left the pit where everyone stayed.  This monolith seemed to be a stone doorway of sort, a portal.  It was resting atop a small rising, a stone staircase about eight feet high with no carvings or markings to distinguish it.  Cell stood by it and remembered that it was the kind that Enma Daio allowed his messengers and lackeys to use when they run their little errands.

         "_Why would a structure like this be in such a barren part of Hell?  Hmm, it must be so scum like Freezer won't come across it by accident. Maybe Daio knows what he is doing after all.  No, that fool NEVER knows what he's doing._"  Cell immediately lost interest in this piece of rock.  It was obviously not active, Cell saw the doorframe fill with light when someone would step through, and it would seal up behind said person to prevent anyone else from using it.  No matter, this one was taking Cell nowhere.

Suddenly, a light appeared in the portal and a messenger stepped through, some nameless ogre on some pointless mission, carrying it out with unappreciated dedication.  The fellow hurried off to find the Task Master of this level and left the portal unguarded.  Seems the all-powerful Enma Daio did not screen his workers for being meticulous in matters of security, especially when dealing with one of the most notorious criminals ever to be brought into this Hell.  One did not go about leaving exits unguarded or better yet, open.  

Cell simply stood as he always had, the pose that had made him feared on Earth, for no one could inflict fear into the hearts of mortals by simply crossing his arms, he paid no mind to the open portal.  And still, the portal was open, a tempting invitation for someone who can recognize a situation when granted one.  

Cell opened his eye slightly, and looked at the opened doorway, a doorway leading to unknown levels of this torturing world in the afterlife.  He shut his eye again and snapped his head away in a very discriminating fashion, the Great Cell would never resort to such a low; to a superior being like himself, sneaking around and hiding like a lowly worm would be so very beneath him. 

Yet he considered what the outcome would be of such actions.  

What result would come of stepping through the portal?  Would it be better than having to listen to that conceited weakling Freezer rant on about his race superiority one more time?

Probably.

No matter.  He left that weakling behind as he kept ranting about being defeated by a pair of monkeys, by simply walking away.  That trait annoyed Cell so much; it was pathetic for Freezer to keep whining about being killed at the hands of a Saiya-jin so long ago, it made him physically ill.  That sort of obsessive behavior shows how shallow one can be.

Cell took a step; the silence was cut with the sound of the distinctive clank produced when the organic android walked.  Then another.  Eventually, Cell stood before the portal, still with his arms crossed, stared at the portal, analyzing it methodically.

         Finally Cell broke his motionlessness.  He extended his hand, and he touched the portal.  It went right through.  Streams of light shot out of the portal, making the android flinch slightly, this gave Cell the adrenaline to cross into the unknown.

All Cell saw was a bright white light; a blinding light that he had not seen since his battle with the son of Goku.  He grew to hate the color of light.  The more he thought of how he had been sent here unfairly by that boy, he grew even angrier, and angrier.  Freezer kept complaining that Cell would only talk about his defeat, how "the perfect creation was defeated by a mere child," Freezer thought such shallowness was pathetic.

When the light passed and his eyes readjusted themselves, he saw where the portal had led him.  He stepped down, reassumed his usual crossed-arm, and analyzed the new landscape, this new level.  

This was obviously a higher level of Hell. The landscape was almost identical to the one he had just left, but it was lighter, less oppressive.  Various inhabitants of this level were busily engaged tending to assorted tasks.  Amidst the chaos of grueling manual labor as punishment for all eternity stood a hulking ogre, an ugly blue monster with purple hair and a horn on the top of his head, a whip in one hand, and a clip board in the other.  There he stood, a crude beast shouting insults of a derogatory nature to the peons as he whipped them.  The pathetic little beings just nodded their heads, grunted in acknowledgement and continued to work at their pitifully slow pace.  They were obviously too stupid to feel pain.  The ogre continued this act until he noticed the tall green fellow standing with his arms crossed.  He adjusted his glasses and stomped up to Cell, asserting as much of the little authority he possessed.

         "You there!  Why aren't you working!  Those rocks have to be piled and crushed with the Hammers of Pain and Despair; those are the orders from Enma Daio, a suitable punishment for fallen scum like you.  Now get to work, you pathetic worm."  The ogre shouted in Cell's face as he waved a huge fist.  Cell looked at this loser; then proceeded in standing with his eyes closed.

         "You...how dare…nobody ever…" the ogre spoke, not knowing who he was talking to.  The veins in his neck pulsated in rage from this show of insubordination.  "All right, maggot, you're here in my domain, and you'll do as I say, I can crush you in an instant, you filthy piece of…" with that threat Cell looked the ogre right in the eye, not saying a single word.  

That cold look was enough.  Fear consumed the meaningless ogre, all breath left his body, he tried to drop his eyes, "D—Don't forget what I told you…alright…sir."

         The harried ogre did not even stop to see if his instructions were going to be followed, he just hurried off elsewhere like a dog with its tail between its legs. Cell looked at the nearby workers, they immediately went back to work.  Except now they were trying very hard to look busy so they would not call attention to themselves.  Cell sensed their fear, and he smiled.  He felt a rush of power whenever he intimidated anyone weaker than him, it was a pleasure he enjoyed in death as much as he did in life.  God, he wanted to be alive again.

Anyway, that possibility was far from becoming a reality, no one on earth would even consider using the Dragonballs to wish Cell back to life.    It's been well over a year, so it was impossible for the Dragonballs to bring him back.  

Chances are, people may not even remember him, they may remember his atrocities, but who knows how much time has past since his reign of terror.

Cell began to think of how the earth might have changed since his "untimely" departure, the people of earth must worship Gohan now.  That thought made Cell angry, angrier and angrier, his death made a celebrity of that brat.  It made Cell angry to think that the boy is a god on earth while he toiled unmercifully here in this…this place.  Cell looked over to his right at a worker pounding on a rock with a little hammer, and kicked him, he was launched into the air; the heads of the other workers followed the flying demon until he disappeared far off in the horizon.  A small puff of dust was raised on the side of a mountain where the demon landed.  

The others looked back at Cell with wide eyes, and immediately went back to work at an even faster pace than before.  Cell went back to thinking.

"_That boy, that boy, THAT BOY_," Cell festered in anger. 

Finally, he settled down.  This was not the first time Cell acted out on his anger, but by now, he could easily regain his composure.  Within a few moments, Cell resumed his pose.  He wondered what else this level might hold for entertainment. At the very least he should be able to watch the irresponsible ogres taken to task and punished for their stupidity and lapse in security.

         Cell had only taken a step when another portal opened.  An ogre with a very important air about him came storming out.

         "Ezzo!!  Haven't these boulders been finished yet?  They need to be crushed and then heated for Enma Daio's personal sauna!"  His irritation was aimed at the Taskmaster of this level who had regained his air of authority and was already shouting at some lowly demon who could not lift his hammer.  Cell rolled his eyes.

         "Does it look to you like I have plenty of extra help around here?" the Task Master shouted back.

         Cell at once lost interest in the impending argument and noticed that the new arrival had also left his portal open as well.  Cell smirked, _such a streak of luck_. Where was this luck when he was on earth?  Without hesitation this time, Cell walked through the portal.  The same flashes of light came at Cell as before, but this time he was ready for them, and they didn't make him have flashbacks of his rather uncomfortable death.

         The portal zipped shut behind Cell, finally making the two bickering ogres realize what just happened, and WHO just went through the portal.  They scurried about, and most of all tried to come up with an excuse to tell Daio when he realizes who just escaped.


	4. Chapter IV

Chapter IV:  Impending Doom is Approaching the Earth

Halted in surprise, Cell realized where he landed…straight to the processing station, the office of Enma Daio himself.  Immediately realizing where he was, Cell took advantage of his arrival going unnoticed and pressed against the desk to _remain_ unnoticed.  It did not take much for Cell to remember how to sneak about, he had not snuck around since he killed Trunks to steal his time machine.  This time, he was in his perfect form, normally Cell would be far to proud to reduce himself to such lowly tactics.  His pride was obviously flexible, if he could escape Freezer's bantering, he would be willing to dance.

In the office, he was dwarfed completely by the immense size of the gigantic Enma Daio and his cluttered desk overflowing with papers, ringing phones, pens in coffee cups, charts, graphs, calculators, calendars, name lists, paperclips, and ink bottles.  Cell felt assured of his hiding place.  A press of newcomers was jostling in line and harried ogres were rushing about, as was the usual in Daio's office; Cell remembered the general chaos when he arrived.  This scene was almost identical.  Daio was focused on a loud conversation with a grumpy tiny old woman dressed in black and sitting on a floating crystal ball.

         "…Treat me like a mindless slave, HA! I have a life, too.  You are just taking advantage of an old woman."

         "But Baba, who else can help deliver the recently deceased student of Master Kitaro?  You've known him for over three hundred years; you are the perfect person to run back and forth between the two realms to bring him.  You know that," Enma insisted, towering over the tiny woman from his desk.

         "Flattery will get you no where, Enma Daio.  I don't even know Kitaro very well.  No one does.  No one's even heard of him..." Baba replied, with her little hands folded in front of her.

         _Cross realms?_  _This odd little toad woman has portal capability between here and the land of the living?  Access to the living?_  Cell latched onto that thought in an instant, and his face contorted in a devilishly evil smile as one name came across his mind.  

_Gohan._

"But Baba, I know Kitaro is a drunk, but his student is a fine young man."

"Was Enma, was a fine young man."

"You know what I mean.  You know that whenever an exceptional person dies, you personally deliver them."

"Well, why should I do it?"

"Baba, you're just cranky.  I'll tell you what, I'll be taking a break in about fifteen minutes.  What do you say we have a nice cup of tea?  That should calm your nerves, trust me."

"What can I say, Enma, your servants make the best tea I've tasted in all the astral plane."  The old woman pondered a bit.  "Fine.  You have the tea, and I'll bring…what was his name?"

Enma Daio rustled through some papers and came across a coffee stained scrap of paper, it had a name scribbled on it with pencil.  "Masamune."

"Fine, I'll bring young Masamune to you _only _if you have a nice cup of green tea ready."

"Can you go now?"

"Well, I'll see what I can do."  The old lady said with a little smirk on her face.  Cell knew what he had to do, and focused his eyes on the old Baba.  "But if I go now, that'll cost you an extra cup of tea, and some biscuits."  In an instant, Cell disappeared in a spurge of lines and reappeared behind the witch.  Immediately, Cell put the old woman in a headlock and made his other hand almost like a blade to her throat.  

"You might want to postpone that little appointment, Oh Great Daio."  His grip was like a vice as the old woman kicked at the air with futility to struggle out of the android's clutches.

         Enma rose to his feet with a roar of outrage.  "Cell?  What are you doing here?  Release her at once!"  Ogres trembled and cowered under their master's fury.

         "Heh, you would think that after my term in Hell, that I would be bitter against you."  Cell took a step back and smiled.  

"Cell, LET BABA GO!"  Enma thundered.

         Cell's smile widened.  

He chuckled, "In fact, I not bitter." 

"CELL!"

"I am angry."

"Cell, if you hurt Baba…"

"What can you possibly do to me while I have her?"  He squeezed his elbow; the old woman screamed out in pain, kicking her legs even more furiously.  She felt as though her head would be torn off.   "Hmm?  Well?"  He tightened his elbow slightly more.

         "What do you want?"

         "I am not selfish, all I ask is that my life be restored to me."

         "Never." 

         "This must be a difficult decision for the Great Enma Daio, a life for a life, a situation great kings have faced before, and continue to face.  Grant freedom to a criminal to spare the life of an innocent, what to do, what to do, what to do, will you grant me life, oh wise ruler?  Or have this ugly old hag join you here in the afterlife?"

"What do you think you will accomplish, Cell?  If you kill Baba, you know I can bring her to life."

         "Oh, of course I do, Daio, I also know you are a stern and strong ruler, but can you possibly stand to watch this defenseless old woman suffer?  The pain on her face as her neck is snapped right in front of you?  Can you watch that?  Are you that cold?  Are you that stern a ruler?  Do you want her to suffer that great cost, such immense pain, over your fool pride?"  

The pressure mounted on Daio, his breath had a feel of both fear and rage in it; a bead of sweat came down the side of his face.  He didn't even feel it.  His eyes were locked on Cell's; who in turn held a look of joy.  Cell knew how much pain Baba was in, that fact made him savor this moment; he had also always wanted to hurt Daio somehow, in someway.  

Enma pounded the top of his desk; he could do nothing to Cell out of fear of harming her. But it went against all he stood for to bargain with such scum.

         Enma brought his fists down on his desk, cracking it.  "DAMN IT."  He breathed violently trying to control his temper.  He sat there for a few moments contemplating the situation.  

Baba felt a squeeze; she felt her vertebrae in her neck start to separate, she felt it under her flesh, under her muscle.  She screamed in pain in the clutches of the smirking Cell.  

Finally, Enma opened his eyes, and stared at Cell with an anger that could have burnt him where he stood.  Cell stared back, with a menacingly evil grin on his face.  Finally, the Great Enma Daio broke down.  

"Damn you, Cell."

         Cell laughed, "Why, my dear Enma…I already am!!!"  The halo over Cell's head slowly dissolved.  Cell, one of the Earth's cruelest criminals—was now alive.

         "You have what you wanted, Cell, now LET BABA GO!!!!"

         "Please Daio, only a fool would release a hostage.  I can easily leave here on my own, I have the ability to instantly teleport, but since I hold a conjurer, I can instantly appear on the Earth with a portal.  Why waste my ki, my _life force_, when it is completely unnecessary?"

         "CELL, THAT WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!!!!"

         An evil smile came across Cell's pale face, "Why my dear Enma…I never made a deal, I never agreed to let her go, I just made my demands.  And you, out of your vast generosity, gave them to me."  Cell laughed.

         "DAMN YOU CELL!!!"

         "Thank you so much, Enma Daio, now if you'll excuse me, I have to leave now.  I have some important _appointments_ to attend to with a certain Saiya-jin."  That was a cue to open a portal, which opened behind him.

         In a futile attempt to talk Cell out of escaping, Daio said, "Goku?  Goku!  Goku and the others, they've stopped you before, Cell, they've stopped you before, they can do it again."

"Honestly, do you believe I will make the same mistakes as before?  I think not.  I guarantee, Daio, you stupid pathetic worm, that the next entourage you see here before you will be those very Saiya-jin."  With that, Cell gave an arrogant grunt, and jumped through the portal with the little witch in his grip.


	5. Chapter V

Chapter V:  New World, New Warriors

         The portal opened on the other side, and through the vortex came the organic android with his tiny hostage.  No longer was he in the eternal suffering of Hell.  Cell had finally returned to the land of the living.  The only Hell that would exist here would be the Hell Cell himself would dispense to the pathetic worms that infest it.

High in the sky over a barren land where nothing seemed to live, Cell surveyed his surroundings.  Nothing more than rocks, ravines, and some patches of grass similar to the place where the Vegeta and Goku had their epic battle.  Cell knew this.  Gero was meticulous in programming every significant bit of history pertaining to Goku into Cell's mind; the defeat of Piccolo Daimao at the hands of a young Goku, the results of every martial arts tournament, the defeat of the weakling Freezer on Earth, all were loaded into his mind by the brilliant genius's computer as he grew deep in the private subterranean lab.

He almost forgot he had a hostage until she tried screaming.

"Oh, yes.  You."  He smiled as he raised her to eyelevel.

"You, you won't get away with this," the old witch said.  Her eyes were filled with fear, a tear rolled down her cheek as she struggled in Cell's vise like grip.  He noticed her crying, his expression changed from malevolent glee to one that was cold and analytical, it was as though wondered what this was.  God knows Cell had seen humans cry before out of sheer terror, but never up close. 

He could see the tear stream down her face, leaving a wet trail left from her eye, down her cheek, and dangling at the tip of her chin.  But Cell didn't see "tears."  He saw salt.  He saw sodium.  He studied the color patterns given by the light reflecting off the droplet; the blue and purple glittering in the light reminded him of the crystals Gero had in his palms.  She tried to pull away from him as his finger came up to her face. 

He scooped up the tear and felt tiny droplet dissolve as he rubbed it between his index and thumb.  He sniffed it.  It smelled like…nothing.  It was odorless.  Cell contemplated this, "_What makes these creatures cry?  Is it fear?  Certainly, it must be an emotional reaction inside these people, are the functions of the tear ducts located under the eyelids triggered by specific signals sent by the brain.  Or is it pain?  Can pain, an outside stimulus, trigger tears?  Can a person cry as an independent action, independent from commands by the brain?  Can it be me making her cry, or is she making herself cry…or maybe it's a sign for something deeper.  Maybe it's a sign of the damage this little creature will suffer, her fear of the damage that she will be taking…and already HAS taken.  Not so much the physical damage, but the inevitable emotional damage, the sweet traumatizing pain that I plan to inflict.  It has to be._"  Cell recalled the terror he spread the day he hatched from his pupa stage, he saw women and children crying.  Many of them ran in fear from him, he ignored their tears as his sharp tail pierced their chests and robbed their young little bodies of energy.  Of all the targets he attacked, Cell preferred to attack children.  They were so weak and slow; he enjoyed the fact that he not only brought cold death unto them, but that they were in fear as they died.  Cell felt empowered when he shattered the lives of young children, that he can have an irreversible impact on the life of a child.  Enma Daio said that after all of the innocent children that died, it was the greatest justice that a child killed Cell.  Cell always thought Daio was a fool.

Cell never thought of the tears, but he knew they were there.  He never wondered why they cried, he never thought about it.  All he knew was that it gave him a feeling of power, the power in causing pain to those who were weaker and smaller than him.  Those are the tears he remembered and relished, but this was the first time he got to actually analyze it.Cell was built for death, for murder, another android was built with the capability for feeling and understanding emotion.  That android was weak…on many levels.  Cell realized the connection between him and that soft Android and his face slowly contorted to reflect this. 

"Pathetic little insect, you worm; Uranai Baba, you make me sick.  Such a weak being like you does not deserve to live, nonetheless be allowed to live within my presence."

"Goku, help me, Goku!"  Baba cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks.  "GOKU!!!!"  She cried out.  Cell sneered in disgust at the sight of such a pathetic life form in his hand crying for help…he felt his hand tighten around her neck.  The more she struggled, the tighter he squeezed.  

There was a loud snap.  

In Enma's office, the crystal ball that floated loyally under Uranai Baba for countless of years finally came under the grip of gravity.  

It fell to the floor and shattered.  

Enma rose from his chair, and dashed to the remains of the ball. 

He knelt down and scooped up the little shards of shattered crystal into his giant hand.  He stood tall again, looking at the remnants of the crystal ball in his palm, his eyes watered to the realization.  His breath quickened as he studied the color patterns given by the light reflecting off the crystal. He drew a deep breath, and he closed his hand, crushing the crystal into a fine powder; tears rolled down the giant's red cheeks.  

The accountant demons employed for all eternity at the office of the Great Enma Daio stopped what they were doing, and everything went silent; typewriters stopped clacking, phones stopped ringing, pencils were dropped, all this happened when, a loud roar of anger thundered from the lair of lord of the Afterworld Enma Daio. 

Baba's little legs hung limp, lifeless.  Cell held the tiny witch in his hand; her little head hung back, her eyes rolled back and white.  Her chin stained with blood from her mouth.  Freezer had the tendency to taste the blood of his victims, he went mad with ecstasy as the thick blood tickled his taste buds, but Cell was disgusted with the taste of blood.  

He grunted in contempt at the body and tossed it away.  It almost fell in slow motion; the winds seemed to cushion the body, trying to gently set it to the ground with arms and legs spread wide; but halfway to the ground, Cell casually extended his arm and released a huge blast from his palm.  

Goku looked up from his bowl of fried noodles, his chin was stained with sweet-and-sour sauce but his eyes were fierce.  He sensed a ki, a familiar ki.  His brow furrowed with worry, and he looked to Vegeta, who had the same look of urgency.  The Saiya-jin glanced at each other; they felt a sense of duty.  

The light flash disappeared, and the natural light of the Earth returned.  The body was gone.

Now Cell was ready for the cause he came for.  He shut his eyes and concentrated deeply as the wind passed over his face.  The echo of the wind was all that could be heard.  After several moments, he sensed several presences, several ki.  It was interesting to find how much this world has changed since he left.  

He turned his head…_as usual, the strongest ki on Earth…Goku_.  He turned his head a little to the side…_Vegeta, and he's MUCH more powerful than last time, but he still pales in comparison to Goku_.  A young ki, yet a familiar ki, could it be…yes…_Trunks, the Trunks of this timeline has matured, and he's quite powerful, he must be about as strong as the Androids were so many years ago._  There was another one close to Trunks_, Another young ki with Trunks. Was it Gohan?  No.  It was like Gohan's and it was like Goku's, but not quite.  It had to be possible; it has been many years, a new warrior.  Interesting, he seems to be the same age as this timeline's Trunks._

Cell turned to another direction, in the direction of the tropical islands, the land of papayas.  A ki there he recognized, it was the same ki as that of the scrawny pink fellow he met in Hell.  _What was it doing there?_  _Could it be that person, could it be that his soul was erased of all memory and placed back on earth?_  That was the eventual fate for all evildoers; it happened to Raditz, to Zarbon and Dodoria, to Babidi, he saw them dragged away to this fate, one by one.  Just one of the many memories of the horrible term he spent in Hell.

_Never mind, that ki is too weak, a newborn ki, one that is not worth my time.  Cell continued scanning the earth, Piccolo…Gohan…Tenshinhan…Krillin…where could Android 18 and Android 17 be?  No matter…I have no need for those two insignificant components_.  Cell's body retained its perfect form in death.  All of its strength and power were preserved in his journey to the afterlife.  Very interesting, the virtue of preserving the body at the height of the warrior's magnificence was an honor reserved for the greatest and noblest of warriors, and it was bestowed onto Cell.  How ironic.

_Hmm, this is a new ki.  It is almost identical to that of the pink man in Hell, only…it isn't evil at all.  It is one of…pure good?_  Cell needed to know where this ki came from; it was the most powerful on Earth, aside from Goku's.  It was coming from one of the Capital cities.  _It would not be wise to attack the Saiya-jin at this moment; I think I need to explore this new world first.  I need to know how this world has changed and if there's anything here that I can exploit for my eventual battles.  Once I can think of a plan of attack and ensure a method of success for that plan, Goku and his friends will all feel the pain the deserve.  But first, I must know to whom this ki belongs to.  If I can subvert his will, he can be a very useful asset…whether he wants to or not."_  

Cell spread his wings, allowed an aura of ki to form around him and burst off leaving a trail of blue ki behind him.


	6. Chapter VI

Chapter VI:  The Demon Cell Has Finally Returned to the Capitol

An ever-growing metropolis centered on the achievement of their hero, Satan City is truly the capitol of the world.  The center of industrial strength, artistic development, along with scientific and technological progress, all of these achievements have happened because the world's most brilliant thinkers and workers all want to be close to their hero; thus these people can work along side each other and maximize the benefits of their knowledge.  The results have been the gifts of prosperity for the entire world, all of which stems back to the act of heroism that liberated the Earth from the reign of terror brought by the creation of the Red Ribbon Army, the Human God Mr. Satan.

And there sat the great hero at a park bench, as he does everyday at noon, enjoying the breezy summer day, puffing away on his cigar.  The flowing white cape draped to the ground and the championship belt he bought tightened around his waist as he breathed in the fresh, clean air; he was just smiling at himself, content, feeling happy to be alive.  That was a day just as any other day; at his feet was a white dog, a rather young dog, asleep under the sun.  A butterfly landed on the dog's nose; it sneezed without waking up.  Satan gave a hearty laugh.  

On the bench next to the great hero was a big fat pink blob.  In one giant yellow-gloved hand was an ice cream cone, in the other a chocolate ice cream Popsicle; resting on its belly were stacks of cupcakes and pastries, very sweet and heavy with icing.  All around Majin Bu's boots were candy wrappers and lollypop sticks.  He was so busy with his treats; he ignored the world around him.

Mr. Satan looked to his best friend, and folded his arms behind his head, a habit he picked up from Goku.  He breathed a long sigh before finally saying something.  "Isn't life great, Bu?  I mean to simply be able to live."  Bu doesn't even stop eating.  "The Earth is beautiful; nature, it has unspoiled grandeur; it makes you stop and think about how fragile everything is.  In moments of peace like these, you see that there is an order in nature, a balance.  I could spend an entire lifetime living in raw nature simply trying to understand it with my limited human mind," examining his cigar, "and I would give it all up for opportunity to do that.  To live in the wild with only the bare essentials, and even then we wouldn't need that because nature provides everything you would ever need to live.  Nature is like a caring mother, it can give us everything we would ever need to live, and like children, we would take it and not appreciate it."  He tapped the cigar, and the ash from the tip spread in the wind; he put the cigar back in his mouth and started puffing.  The ash was back to as it was before.  "What do you think?"

Bu paused for a moment, and turned to Satan with the squinted eyes he has been known for.  "What are you talking about?"

"Nature Bu, nature.  Don't you ever stop to think about how the world works, how we are all symbiotic creatures in the larger plan of life here on the planet?"

Bu had no reaction; he turned his head and faced forward.  He was really giving Satan's words heavy thought.  Finally, "Sometimes.  Sometimes…sometimes I feel like I…need to do more.   Like I was created for a reason…I know what that reason was…but I never liked it…now that I know that it was wrong…but my creation was for more than just as a warrior…maybe I'm destined for something more.  But it all gets to be too much…too much…when it does, I just think to myself, 'Leave it for another time; just enjoy everything like it is.  Just enjoy it.'"  He blinked a couple of times staring into Satan's eyes, after a rather lengthy pause he stuffed a candy bar into his mouth.

         A slender shadow swooped past the Orange Star High School with sonic boom intensity.  All of the students ran to the windows of the school to see if a jet plane passed.  

         It passed the castle for the King of the World, whose power and authority had been dwarfed significantly by the emergence of Earth's Greatest Hero.

         Finally, at Satan City Central Park, a child looked up and smiled.  A second, a third.  Parents close by all wondered as to what their children were looking at, they looked up and a chill of fear traveled down their spine.  They actually felt cold, all of the adults were speechless until finally one woman shrieked as she picked up her child and ran.  Everyone ran as though the Devil had appeared.  In many respects, he did.  The screaming, the crying, and the shouting were all caused by the Earth's greatest fear, people were in terror; they could not even say the name that had grown to become infamous in the history of the Earth.  Cell had returned.

         Mr. Satan, the Greatest Hero the Earth had ever known, sat on the park bench; he and Bu were looking around to see what it was that had everyone so panic stricken.  People ran past the hero, as usual he was confused, by the time he could bring himself to ask someone what was happening, the park was practically empty.  "Wha-what's happening?  What's going on?  Bu do you know?"  Bu shook his head.  Satan turned and looked up.  He gasped in terror, his jaw dropped and started to quiver, he finally was able to shout, "C—C—C—Cell!!" 

         Bu turned, "Hm?"  There he was.  This green man was skinny and looked weak, Bu wondered why everyone would be so afraid of him.  He doesn't look very strong at all.  When he turned back to Satan, the Greatest Hero the Earth Had Ever Known was gone.  

"Satan?  Satan, where are you?"  Bu turned around behind him to find the Earth's Greatest Hero hiding in a bush shaking madly, and with his eyes almost wielded shut, holding the dog Bee, crushing the poor little thing with fear, and saying, "Oh God, oh God, oh God…"      

         "So you are the second most powerful being on Earth, maybe even the Universe.  Honestly, I am not very impressed.  Actually, I am somewhat disappointed."  Cell said with a contemptuous smirk.

         Bu turned to face the person who was obviously addressing him, he stared at this bizarre individual; he could not recognize this tall green man, he opened his beady little eyes wider to see clearly whom it was.  No one he had ever seen before  "Who are you?"

"Let's just say I am an old friend."

Bu stood up, "I don't like you.  Leave this place."

Cell grunted in contempt.

"I said 'leave.'"

As Cell lowered to the ground, he said, "Please, I doubt you have the nerve to actually make me leave."  With that Cell grabbed a screaming young man as he ran by and snapped his neck.

Bu grit his teeth.  "Hey!  He didn't do anything to you!  He was innocent."

Cell threw the body away into the horizon, staring Majin Bu in the eye with an unflinching smirk on his face; Cell saw this fat blob was not willing to fight.  _How can I coax this lummox into fighting?  I know I'm no where near his power, but I think his naivety is what could be keeping him from using his full power, that is the only way I think I can actually survive against a being with such immense power.  I have to take advantage of his childlike nature and beat him as quickly as possible.  I have to win, there is no way I can stand before Enma Daio again and expect to save face.  How can I get him to fight?  _Cell examined him.  _Ah.  _Cell knew how to get this slob fighting.  

Cell walked up the poor pink excuse for a warrior, took the ice cream cone from the massive gloved hand and smothered it in his face.  Satan was watching the events as they happened through the bushes, holding Bee close by, crushing the dog in fear.  

Cell took a couple of steps back and crossed his arms, staring at the humiliated Bu.  Cell started to chuckle, then the chuckle swelled and grew into boisterous laughter.  The rage inside of Bu could no longer be controlled, steam rushed out of Bu's head and his clenched fists broke the candy he had.  Bu was ready to kill Cell where he stood.

"So, I assume you are going to attack me now."

Bu was stirring in anger, his face contorted in anger, and his breath quickened; his teeth were grinding, he felt as though he could crush Cell.  .

"Such a pathetic life form.  A coward," said the smirking Cell, " a fat, disgusting coward.  You should be ashamed of yourself.  You call yourself a warrior?  A fat eating machine like you, HA, pathetic.  You make me sick."

"SHUT UP!!!" Bu screamed as he exploded with ki.

Holding on to the trunk of a tree for dear life, Satan glared in awe, "My God, he could kill Cell," Bee held on to Satan's cape.  Cell stared into the light; almost daring Bu to attack.  He remained as stoic as he had ever been, appearing as though he were not impressed when he was actually in awe of the immense power being shown by this extra-terrestrial.  Pride would not allow for the show of fear or emotion, other than contempt for an opponent.  

When the flash of ki settled, Bu saw Cell had not even flinched, not even blinked, that he was unmoved, expressionless.  But Cell started to laugh.  "You stupid fool, do you think you could actually scare me into leaving this place with that pathetic show of power?  You are obviously stupider than you look, you fat lummox."  

That insult finally drove Bu over the edge.  "That's it!  I can't take this anymore!!"  With that, Bu lunged at Cell at fill speed.

Cell could not help but smile at this turn of events; he took his battle stance.  He clawed his hands, bent his knees and was prepared. _Yes._

Bu swung with a right, it was a punch that would have destroyed Cell if he had not dodged it.  Instead, the swing was nothing but air; the sheer velocity of the punch shattered a statue in the park dedicated to the Man Who Saved Humanity, a statue of Mr. Satan holding a small child oh his shoulders.  Mr. Satan peered from behind the tree to see what was going on, he shrieked like a small girl and jumped back behind the trunk when his marble head landed in front of him.

Bu pursued the android with a flurry of punches, which he blocked with his forearms.  Cell felt as though his forearms were going to shatter, he had underestimated the strength of this blob, but that was a good thing.  The Saiya-jin characteristics of Cell's blood allowed him to battle a strong opponent and have himself become stronger.  Dr. Gero accelerated Cell's blood; so rather than having the boost in strength come _after_ the fight with the powerful opponent, Cell grew stronger _during_ the fight.  

He never managed to hit Cell, and a huge crater was left in the stone walkway when Bu missed with a double axe handle.  Cell countered with a weak kick to the stomach.  Bu sucked in his stomach and took Cell's leg in; he was shocked to see his attack completely failed.  He pulled his leg out and jumped immediately away.  _Damn, this is bad.  This is really bad.  I didn't know this fat bastard was like putty.  I need to finish him quickly, but first I need to last against him to gain enough strength to at least hurt him.  _In the middle of thought, Cell didn't realize that out of sheer frustration, Bu decided to try and end this battle.  

"TURN INTO CARAMEL!!!"  And a beam fired from his antenna, but Cell teleported.  The beam hit a tree, which collapsed into a pile of wrapped caramel candy cubes, and behind the candy was Mr. Satan.  With a scream he ran off to another hiding place.  Bu growled in anger, Cell looked distracted; he didn't expect to miss.

Bu was still traveling forward from his attack, being the obvious aggressor in this battle.  Out of desperation, Cell teleported behind him and fired five shots into Bu's back, and one to the head.  All shots came out his chest and forehead and pierced the ground.  Bu was able to plant his feet and turned, unaffected.  Cell's smirk disappeared as he watched in horror the wounds in Bu's chest seal shut.  _Damn it, what have I gotten myself into?  This is a most inconvenient turn of events, but there is nothing to do now but try and evade this simpleton until I grow strong enough to maybe hurt him.  I don't think this one can be killed, he is simply too strong; he is almost invincible._

Bu attacked in a violent fury that made Cell drop his confident smirk, now Cell was fighting for survival.  Cell dodged one punch and returned with six punches to Bu's chin.  They did not even make Bu slow down.  Cell was now completely evasive, pulling a punch occasionally, but it was all in a futile attempt to keep the almost rabid Bu away.  Finally, Cell's speed failed and Bu caught him by the throat, now was the time to destroy this demon once again and send him back to Hell, where he rightfully belonged.

Just as the fight had come to its finale, Satan jumped out from behind a birdbath and became the cheerleader, "YES, BU, YOU'VE WON!!!  YOU'VE WON!!!"  CRUSH HIM!!!  DESTROY THAT DEMON!!!  BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA!!!"  

Bu turned his attention away from Cell to see what exactly it was Satan was doing; with that window of opportunity, Cell's tail extended like a cobra, and struck with deadly precision to Bu's neck.  Bu did not feel any pain; he just turned back to Cell with a look of confusion, not anger.  He did not know what it was Cell had just done, it did not feel like an attack, he just held Cell's throat in his hand, he could easily crush Cell's throat without the slightest bit of effort.  "What was that?  That didn't even hurt.  You really are weak."  

Cell began to pump at Bu's neck through his tail.  Bu instantly felt pain, it was the first dose of pain Cell inflicted on the naïve warrior.  In a fit of rage, Bu released Cell and tore off his tail, but Cell had managed to pump about five loads.  The goop that was Bu traveled through Cell's system.  

He stepped back and watched Bu pull the tip of the tail out of his neck.  He threw it to the ground. All the while the sample that was extracted finally made it into Cell's brain; he could feel his mind begin to pulsate as the thick liquid churned; his eye's felt hot.  Cell began to scream and wail in pain, thrashing about wildly.  As he did this, the sky began to grow dark, clouds gathered.  Thunder crashed and lighting streaked down from the heavens.  Heavy winds began to develop as the city began to panic from this sudden change in weather.

"Dad!!!"  Goten shouted from outside.  

Goku rushed outside, "What is it, son?  Oh my God."  In the distance, in the horizon, the sky had turned dark.  "That's over the Capitol."

"The Capitol?  What do you think it could be?"

"I don't know Goten…I don't know.  VEGETA!!!  COME HERE, YOU NEED TO SEE THIS!!!"

"What is it Kakarroto…wha—what is that?"  Vegeta came out of the house.  Trunks followed

"Dad, what is it?  What's wrong?"

"Nothing Trunks, go back inside."

Goku took that cue, "You too Goten.  Go play some Super Famicom with Trunks."  

Goten looked at his father, he knew that something was wrong, but being the obedient son, he reluctantly said, "Okay."  He went back inside the house.

With the boys gone, the fathers stared at the darkened sky in the distance, their faces were tense; their eyes were fierce.

"What do you think it is, Vegeta?"

"I don't know…but whatever it is…I don't like it."

Both of them closed their eyes and tried to sense what was causing this disturbance over the capitol.  They felt Bu's ki, but before they could find out whom the other warrior was Goku and Vegeta heard a voice through their hearts.

Goku, its important that you head immediately to Enma Daio's before it gets too late. Kaio-sama spoke from the planet of deceased warriors.  He tried hard to maintain concentration; a bead of sweat ran down his temple as he spoke.  Bubbles and Gregory didn't help at all with their commotion.

"Kaio-sama?  What's going on?"

The Earth is in danger again…I wish I could tell you more, but I believe Enma Daio can tell you about this situation better than I can.  He has a personal stake in this…and he requested that he be the one to tell you everything.

"But Kaio-sama, this is really important.  If Vegeta and I go right now, we can stop whatever is going on."

No, by the time you arrive there, it would be too late.  The enemy will be too powerful for either you or Vegeta to stop.  Enma Daio is planning on having you meet someone that can help you overcome this challenge.

"Too late, but if I can teleport, we'll be there in an instant."

DAMN IT GOKU, JUST GO TO ENMA DAIO'S!!! Both Vegeta and Goku were startled.

Goku was personally taken aback by this sudden use of authority from his old master, after a pause, "Alright."

I'm…I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to shout.

"No, it's alright.  I put you in that situation.  Come on Vegeta, we're going.  Hold my hand."

"I'm not holding your hand."

"Vegeta, this is serious."

"So am I, I'm not going to hold your hand.  I'd rather fly on my own."

"You can't fly there, it exists on a different plane."

"Then I'd rather go and fight the monster at the capitol on my own."

"But you'll get killed."

"I know, I'd rather die than hold your hand…plus I'll get to Daio's regardless."

"Then put your hand on my shoulder, we're in a hurry."

Vegeta turned and tried to see if anyone was watching, then put his hand on his shoulder.  "Fine, hurry."

"Okay, let me concentrate on a source of ki."  And with that, the two warriors disappeared…

Cell could feel the goop traveling through his body, it was warm, and it entered every muscle.  Cell grabbed his head; he felt pain, as though his head were about to explode.  Had he gone mad?

As this display of pain grew more violently, people began to come out of hiding, and out of curiosity began to gape and stare, everyone asking each other what was going on.

"What?  What's happening?  Bu, what's happening to Cell?" Yelled Satan.

"I don't know," replied Bu.  "Who's Cell?"

"Who's Cell?  WHO'S CELL?  DON'T YOU KNOW WHO CELL IS?"  Bu blinked a couple of times, and Satan realized this was before Bu's time.  "No, you don't know who Cell is.  Well…that's Cell, he's the worst being to ever come to the Earth."

"Is he a bad person?"

"'Is he a bad person?'  He's the worst, he's killed so many people—" 

This conversation carried on as Cell was screaming in raging pain, holding his head as though his brain were contracting violently like his heart.  Cell looked up, he looked at Bu; Cell's eyes were glowing now.  Cell was actually foaming at the mouth. 


	7. Chapter VII

Chapter VII:  The Most Powerful Kikoho 

The organic android kept thrashing about madly as his ki started to glow.  His yells of pain began to take a sonic echo.  His eyes were white, as though they had rolled back into his skull.  Suddenly an aura of blue ki burst at Cell's feet; all that could be seen through the intense blue light was a black silhouette and an even more intense red light that seemed to radiate and glow from his eyes.  Through the dust and wind, Mr. Satan squinted to see the silhouette starting to change.  It was growing, the shoulders started to broaden; the arms were growing longer, and became bulkier; his legs made him taller, and were more massive; his neck thickened; and his chest expanded.  

Finally the light died down to normal.  People tried to readjust their eyesight so they could see in this natural light, and once they could see again, they were shocked to see the vision of Cell, smirking with confidence over his new and stronger body.  By now Cell had completely regained his composure.

_Incredible, I feel…stronger, stronger than I've ever felt before in my entire life!  This is amazing.  I feel as though my strength has possibly doubled…maybe even tripled, but…how could this be?  I only experience a physical change when I absorb…_"  

Cell's face contorted with a sinister grin as his head slowly turned up and looked at a confused Majin Bu, the same Majin Bu created by the magic of the ancient wizard Bibidi_…An artificial life form!  _Now he knew what he had to do.

Cell spread his longer wings, and soared to amazing heights at breakneck speed, paused, then swooped down to Bu like a demonic bat out of the deepest reaches of Hell, and punched Bu in the face in one fluid motion.  It was a crushing blow, one Bu really felt, making him hold his face in pain.  When Bu looked into his gloves, he saw through his blurred vision something he had not seen in years; his purple blood.  He touched his mouth; more blood.  His tongue searched his mouth and tasted blood.  His bottom lip was bleeding.  This green creature actually cut Majin Bu.  He looked up from his mitt and saw Cell hovering over Mr. Satan, with his arms crossed.  

Cell addressed Bu as he stared at the horrified hero, "Hmm.  I remember this little one; he was present at the Game I hosted."  He smirked at the sight of Mr. Satan quivering in fear.  He sighed as he looked around at the city, and the buildings, at the billboards brandishing the fierce face of Mr. Satan.  "I see he has profited quite well from my demise," he smirked, "I assume he must be shocked to see me again."  He used his telepathic powers to raise a plaque to eyelevel and read the inscription aloud,_ "We, the people of the Earth, thank you Mr. Satan for defeating the enemy of Humanity, the monster Cell._"  Cell's demeanor changed by the time he finished reading.  His eyes shifted to the incessantly weeping Mr. Satan, "How dare this weak little piece of garbage even conceive he could defeat a warrior like me.  He is nothing like the one who defeated me.  I should have killed him while I had the chance, now is the time to strike.  But while I'm here, now is when I kill _'the only man to ever defeat Cell.'_"   He shattered the plaque using only his anger.

"No, leave Satan alone!"  Bu said as the blood started to stream out of the corner of his mouth.

"Really? Well…it is apparent that you are no longer in any position to make demands…none the less make due on them."

Bu flew to Cell and tried a flurry of punches again, which Cell deflected with his palms; it was customary for these kinds of ki-powered warriors to fight "fist-to-palm."  Cell casually glided back as Bu punched in futile attempts to hit Cell in the face.  Finally, in an act to break the monotony of this attack, Cell decided to strike Bu with a sharp elbow to the chin.  Bu's head snapped back, like putty; had he been a vertebrate, surely his neck would have snapped, but in this case, it simply stayed.  Cell did not stop to observe the distortion of his opponent this time.  Cell continued to punch him in the stomach, kicking him in the head, slashing at his eyes, delivering a back-handed punch to the cheek, a shattering kick to Bu's inner knee, elbows to the throat, and at the end of this vicious assault, he strangled Bu.  Cell began to laugh as he sank his thumbs into Bu's larynx.  Cell's attacks had the strength behind them to actually hurt Bu, and he knew this.  

Bu tried a punch, but now he was exhausted.  His ki was dangerously low.  Now he was stumbling about, trying to attack while keeping his balance.  

At this point Cell found it easy to coil his tail around Bu's neck and constrict.  He lifted him off his feet, and turned him around; Cell started to punch him in the kidney area and squeezed tighter with every crippling blow; punching each side of Bu's lower back.  Bu did not have kidneys but that was still a vulnerable area for him since he had not trained, Cell saw this as apparent and took full advantage of it.

Slowly people began to come out of their hiding places to watch the cruel beating the apprentice of Mr. Satan was taking.  They wanted to step in, but felt powerless to do anything.  That look of complete and utter helplessness could be seen on everyone's face as Bu's voice echoed throughout the park as he yelped out in pain; every hit could be heard, the sound of Cell's fists grinding into the back of the innocent Bu could be heard throughout the park.  Children covered their ears.  They started to cry.

Bu reached up to try and get a hold of Cell's tail.  "Oh no you don't."  Cell said as he grabbed Bu by the wrist, pulled on it, and tore Bu's arm off.  With that arm, Cell started to slap Bu in the face.  Each slap started to get harder and harder, eventually this disgusting display reached the point of a disturbing beating; Cell was literally beating Bu with his own arm.  Bu did not even try to resist; his evil alter ego would have easily absorbed Cell as he held his arm, but that absorbing power was lost.  That power Bu lost was still present, only it was used to turn people and things into edible treats.  That power!  Bu's eyes showed signs of life as he realized he was not as helpless as Cell thought; with his last ounce of strength he raised the whip-like antenna on his head.

"Oh come now, that ridiculous power?  Again?  Surely you can be more creative than that…probably not."  Cell tossed the arm away and reached up, grabbed the transforming appendage and started to squeeze; Bu screamed in pain.  Cell released Bu from the constricting power of his tail, and allowed him to fall to the ground.  While holding the one armed Bu by the antenna on the top of his head, he hovered over to where he had thrown the arm.  He dragged Bu along the way; he was literally unconscious as Cell picked the lifeless arm up.  He shoved it into Bu's face, allowing it to become once again merge with its owner.  

Cell looked down to the broken Bu, let go of the whip-like appendage and held Bu up by the yellow cape tied in a knot under his chin.  "Such a great power, here, broken in my hands, pathetic."  He brought Bu up, face to face, and Cell sneered in disgust, "Look at you, a fat, disgusting slob, obsessed with food and play; you make me sick.  Such a pathetic warrior, I should kill you.  I would be doing you a favor."  Bu could not even listen.  He may have been unconscious.  "Oh, I have plans for you.  You're going to help me, you are going to volunteer your immense power," as Cell spoke, his tail began to come up, and over Bu's head.  The tip of the tail, which was normally like a hypodermic needle, became a funnel.  It lowered over Bu's head.  Cell, in a state of what apparently seemed like psychotic glee, kept talking to Bu as his head was inside his tail, "Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Trunks, and any of the others who tries to stop me now will be annihilated.  After we become one, I will be an ultimate being; finally I will be able to do justice to the brilliance of Dr. Gero.  Yes, you fat disgusting slob; you will help me.  You will help me conquer the world, and anything beyond!"  Cell's eyes were wide open, almost as though he had gone insane from visions of murderous grandeur; a wide smile spread across his face as his tail came over Bu's shoulders.  Suddenly the tail struck down and constricted around the unconscious Bu and began to suck in the victim.  Cell laughed.

His laugh echoed throughout the park, as did the pumping sound of the absorption process.  The citizens of Satan City were horrified by what they were watching, the psychotic Cell laughing as the poor Bu was being taken.  Mothers covered the eyes of their children, who were scared, probably traumatized by this scene.

"BUUU!!!"  Shouted the helpless Mr. Satan as he witnessed what was happening, tears streamed down his eyes, "NO, BU, PLEASE, TRY AND FIGHT!!!"

The voice of Satan echoed inside of the tail, Bu opened his beady little eyes and realized where he was.  He didn't know what would happen if he stayed there, but he wasn't going to wait to find out.  Cell noticed the limp body of Bu was starting to show signs of life again, he started squirming; suddenly Bu's body turned into liquid and oozed out of Cell's grip.  The ooze fell to the ground, yet did not reshape itself back into the Bu, but instead jumped up and the shapeless mass engulfed Cell, who was not expecting such a turn of events.

The civilians all watched as the tension rose to see what would happen next.  Not one person took a breath, they all leaned forward with their mouths gaping open.  Satan watched, Bee watched, all watched Cell struggle in the mass of goo.

"He did it…He did it!  Ha!  Ha-Ha!  He did it!  HE'S BEATEN CELL!!!"  Satan cried.  Satan excitedly ran out onto the battlefield to try and congratulate Bu, who was trying to keep Cell restrained.  When he reached the blob, a rumbling could be heard.  The blob was starting to swell; Satan stopped as the ground began to rumble.

Suddenly there was a huge ki-powered explosion!  The impact from the explosion was so great everyone in the park was knocked to the ground and glass in the surrounding area shattered and rained down on the people on the street below.  

Mr. Satan went crashing groin first into a tree.

And there stood Cell at the center of a crater with his back hunched, breathing heavily with anger.  His eyes shifted from side to side, in a "come-on-I'm-ready" manner; all of the pink pieces that surrounded him quivered with life.  Cell looked around; he knew what was going to happen next.  Suddenly all of the pieces jumped up and tried to smother Cell again, but missed when he leaped high into the air.  There was a bit of activity in the newly formed blob, but since nothing was caught it turned back into Bu.

Bu looked around feverishly trying to find his opponent.  He planted his feet firmly into one spot and madly swung about trying to find Cell, keeping an eye on his back at all times.  

Bu finally realized just how dangerous Cell could be.  

"I suppose," Bu turned his head up in a heavy motion, "you have realized by now that I am a very versatile warrior.  Judging by that stream of blood coming from your mouth, it's fairly obvious.  Anyway, I would really like to thank you.  Before today, I dangerously unaware of just how weak I truly was; of what new strength had come to the earth since my…untimely demise, but now, whether you knew it or not, you've helped make me stronger, and not only physically, but mentally.  You have helped me discover the lethal potential I truly have.  And once I absorb you, my dear pink blob, I will once again be the most powerful being in the universe."

"What are you talking about?  Why are you doing this?"

"That does not concern you, I am here to attend to matters that have stirred within me well before your arrival."

"What?"

"Revenge you idiot, revenge.  You are going to help me get revenge on Goku and his son Gohan."

"No, Goku is my friend.  I like Gohan, I would never hurt them, not again."

Cell brought his tail up, "You are going to help me whether you want to or not."

"You'll have to kill me before I help you."

Cell smirked, "So be it." With those words Cell disappeared.

Bu turned quickly to try and find the demon.  He appeared behind a young lady, unbeknownst to her, but did nothing.  He reached out to caress her soft brown hair before he disappeared again.  Bu turned to face the direction Cell just stood at, having barely missed him.  

Cell appeared behind a mother holding her child.  They were shivering with fear as they kept an eye out for Cell.  They did not know Cell had appeared behind them, his hand extended slowly over the little boy's head, his fingers spread wide ready to crush the five year-old's skull.  Just as his hand came down, he disappeared before Bu faced him.

Huddled in a ball all alone was a little girl.  She was crying quietly to herself whispering, "Mommy, where are you?  Where are you?"  The little girl had her eyes closed tight and could not see Cell.  He knelt by the little girl.  She trembled with fear, but did not know that the greatest evil was beside her.  He held his hand just about an inch away from her face, and lightly brushed his hand over her face and the top of her head.  He looked up and teleported away.

High above was Cell; he looked down, _pathetic insects._  He put his hands up in front of him, touched index fingers and thumbs.  "BU!!!!  PREPARE TO FEEL THE RAW POWER…"

Satan looked up, "God no."

"OF THE RED RIBBON ARMY…"  

Cell targeted Bu in the diamond shape his hands made.

"Everyone, RUN!!!"  Satan shouted.  Chaos erupted once again as everyone ran.  In the chaos, Bu was unmoved, looking into Cell's eyes, wondering what sort of evil could drive a creature to such actions.  

Amid the panic was the little girl who had her encounter with Cell.  She knelt by her mother, who was lying in a pool of blood, and next to her head was a large rock that was thrown by Cell's explosion.  The little girl was crying as Mr. Satan scooped her up into his arms and ran for shelter.  She was screaming, crying at the sight of her blood soaked hands and sweater.  The dog Bee ran just behind them.

At this point, Bu was alone.  "You're insane."

Cell smirked, "Maybe, but if you will not join me, YOU AND THIS ENTIRE GOD DAMN CITY WILL DIE!!!"

Bu braced himself.  He knew that if he refused, this entire city would be destroyed, as would he, but Cell would not become more powerful.  Goku could still defeat him at this level; he had faith in his friend's strength.  But Bu knew that he could not let himself be absorbed by this maniac; that would mean the end of the world.

Cell let his smile disappear, and it was replaced with a sneer of disgust.  "KI-KO-HO!!!  HAAAAA!!!"  With that scream came an explosion of ki in the shape of the diamond made by Cell's hands, the Kikoho, Tenshinhan's most powerful attack used for purposes of evil.  

Bu watched this attack charge forward.  He grit his teeth, for the first time Bu felt fear.  All Bu could do was put up his scrawny little arms to block the attack and hope.  When the yellow light rained down onto the pink warrior, everything was engulfed.  The intense brightness of the attack made everything solid look black, and all that could be seen was a silhouette of Bu blocking and the ground under him rising up and disintegrating.  


End file.
